Roman - Legends Of The Plains - Cowboy - Nathaniel - Volume III

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Roman, Legends of the Plains, Nathaniel, Volume III, Chapter 8

For merely two decades, from the 1860’s through the 1880’s, it’s estimated that fewer than 35,000 cowboys rode the range, but despite their short chapter in history and relatively small numbers, cowboys were almost instantly romanced into national heroes. The first cowboy came out of the cattle runs that brought herds to the railroads linking the west with Chicago meat packers and drives that would establish ranching as far north as Wyoming, Montana and the Dakotas. As railroads advanced into South Texas and the Northwest Territories became overstocked, the cowboy’s moment in the hot Texas sun would quickly pass.

Perfectly at home with none of the comforts of civilization, the cowboy’s attire was all he had to protect him from the elements. Nathaniel wears a shirt of blue strips mattress ticking over the familiar red union jack long underwear. The union suit would be worn day and night. It would absorb the sweat of a hard day’s work, and provide some protection from the cold night air.